Inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport

Inside the latest issue of Passenger Transport

Issue 337 of Passenger Transport is published on May 16. Contents include:     LEAD STORY Bus operators urged to get out and make deals A growing number of areas want bus franchising but ALBUM Conference is told opportunity still exists to shape policy in many parts of the country...
Bus operators urged to get out and make deals

Bus operators urged to get out and make deals

A growing number of areas want bus franchising but ALBUM Conference is told opportunity still exists to shape policy in many parts of the country     This month saw the West Midlands become the latest region of England to commit to franchising and newly-elected ‘metro mayors’ express their support...
Opportunity lies amid  a world of uncertainty

Opportunity lies amid a world of uncertainty

Britain’s small and medium-sized bus companies are adjusting to rapid changes, but ALBUM Conference speakers also identified opportunities. Robert Jack reports   East Midlands mayor Claire Ward   Within the ALBUM grouping of Britain’s remaining municipal and independent bus companies, there is understandable pride at their combined contribution to the...
UK Bus Summit 2025 programme revealed

UK Bus Summit 2025 programme revealed

Buses minister and ‘metro mayors’ are confirmed speakers Event takes place in Manchester on September 11   The programme for the UK Bus Summit, which will be held in Manchester on September 11, has been confirmed. Organised by Transport Times in partnership with Passenger Transport, the event will bring political...
West Midlands latest to opt for franchising

West Midlands latest to opt for franchising

Mayor Richard Parker and the West Midlands Combined Authority have approved plans to franchise the region’s bus network from 2027   Richard Parker visited Wolverhampton Bus Station following the decision   By Andrew Garnett Bus services in the West Midlands will be brought back under public control for the first...
Breathing new life into redundant land

Breathing new life into redundant land

  Thriving new community spaces have been created from the redundant former public transport estate, and more can follow   Tilburg in the Netherlands was one of the country’s rail manufacturing centres   Transport reconfigures the landscape time and again with each fresh wave of technological change. The coming of...
Uber is here to stay  - can we live with it?

Uber is here to stay – can we live with it?

  There’s no doubt that the convenience of Uber has eroded bus travel to some degree – but how should the sector respond to that?   Uber has become the elephant in the room (Photo: Shutterstock)   Last week, I eavesdropped on some bus industry bods lamenting declining patronage levels...
Latest entries
Read our supplement: The ALBUM Report 2025

Read our supplement: The ALBUM Report 2025

Welcome to The ALBUM Report 2025, a publication from Passenger Transport devoted to Britain’s independent and municipal bus companies. Returning for a ninth year, this year’s report also incorporates the Conference Workbook for the ALBUM Conference 2025, hosted by Nottingham City Transport on May 12-14. We hope you find it an interesting read and we...
ALBUM’s Astill warns of ‘existential threat’

ALBUM’s Astill warns of ‘existential threat’

As Britain’s small and medium-sized bus operators prepare to gather in Nottingham, David Astill warns against squeezing them out of the market   Astill: ‘We’re talking about an existential threat’   Ahead of this month’s ALBUM Conference in Nottingham, ALBUM chair David Astill has warned that bus franchising poses “an existential threat” to small and...
Annus horribilis sees Mobico boss step down

Annus horribilis sees Mobico boss step down

Mobico Group’s woes continues after it reveals a loss of £793m, sale of American school bus business and the departure of CEO Ignacio Garat   School bus business sold to Arriva parent I Squared Capital   Mobico chief executive Ignacio Garat stepped down suddenly this week, marking the second senior departure in recent months. The...
Arriva makes bid for cross-country service

Arriva makes bid for cross-country service

Newcastle to Brighton link restores for service lost in 2008   The proposal would form part of Arriva’s Grand Central open access operation   Arriva has submitted an open access application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) for a new rail service stretching almost the entire length of England, running directly between Newcastle...
Looking after the ‘stakeholders’

Looking after the ‘stakeholders’

  The value of good stakeholder relations can’t be underestimated. Who should do it, what should it involve and who does it well?   Sometimes, the term ‘stakeholder’ gets used in a very depersonalised, almost token manner in business   I do titter when I listen to business mumbo-jumbo – ‘drill down’, ‘helicopter vision’, ‘pain...
UK Bus Summit will return this year

UK Bus Summit will return this year

Local transport minister Stephen Lightwood will be among the speakers in Manchester     With the UK bus industry entering a period of rapid evolution, Passenger Transport has partnered with Transport Times to launch the seventh UK Bus Summit. The event will take place on September 11, 2025, in Greater Manchester – the home of...
£38m for 319 new green buses across England

£38m for 319 new green buses across England

Funding has been allocated to 12 successful local authorities, with more than half going to West of England Combined Authority for 160 buses   More than half of the money (£19.9m) has been allocated to West of England Combined Authority   The government last week announced a £37.8m investment to underpin the purchase of new...
Keep an open mind about open access

Keep an open mind about open access

  Open access rail services have demonstrated that they can grow the market for rail without requiring subsidy. What’s not to like?   Lumo’s open access services begun in October 2021   It was less than a month ago that Rail Partners shut up shop, but I for one am already feeling their loss. The...
Culture: the missing piece in rail reform

Culture: the missing piece in rail reform

  The establishment of Great British Railways provides a unique opportunity to reshape and, in certain areas, reset the rail industry   We are at a pivotal moment for the UK rail industry. With the creation of Great British Railways (GBR) and the imminent renationalisation of passenger services, the sector has an opportunity to set...
£300m cost estimate for Welsh franchising

£300m cost estimate for Welsh franchising

Assessment presents a range of cost and benefit estimates for the planned ‘Bus Reform’ in Wales, which will see all local bus services re-regulated   TrawsCymru services are already publicly controlled   The cost of transitioning to bus franchising across Wales is estimated at over £300m in the Regulatory Impact Assessment on the Bus Services...
Make a great scenic bus journey soon!

Make a great scenic bus journey soon!

  If you believe in buses don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk by taking yourself and others on one of many hidden gems out there   East Yorkshire’s excellent Beachcomer   ‘Use it or lose it’ is a famous but wise old cliché often used among folk to cajole them into supporting businesses...
‘The public transport sector meets here’

‘The public transport sector meets here’

Hamburg will host the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in June. We spoke to UITP’s secretary general, Mohamed Mezghani, about the event and what visitors can look forward to   UITP’s secretary general, Mohamed Mezghani   Mohamed, the UITP Summit is fast approaching, and Hamburg will be the first host city under the new annual...